Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard beats Stephen Curry with a performance he’ll never forget

A week after draining a 3-pointer buzzer to drop the lakers, pacers noob Andrew Nembhardt gather a night against Stephen Curry and the warriors Monday you will never forget. In leading Indiana, who was playing without Tyrese Haliburton i Myles Turnerin a 112-104 win, Nembhard dropped 31 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds with five 3-pointers in 41 minutes, all of which tied career highs.

Those numbers put Nembhard in elite company.

Curry, meanwhile, had his worst game of the season, finishing with 12 points on 3-for-17 shooting, including 2-for-10 from 3. It’s not often that Curry is overshadowed like this by anyone, let alone a relatively obscure rookie. starting just his tenth game.

The look on Curry’s face after Nembhard hit one of his two putbacks in the fourth quarter says it all.

Indeed, it was one of those nights for Nembhard. Don’t get it twisted, it’s not completely out of the blue. The boy can play. He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games. He’s shooting better than 40 percent from 3 on the season. He is solid on the ball and a fantastic passer. Rick Carlisle isn’t just handing 25 minutes per game to rookies, and Nembhard, with TJ McConnell out recently and Haliburton the last two, has logged more than 35 over the last three. Still, this was a night he will struggle to replicate anytime soon, if ever.

He’s done it all for the Pacers, who have put the ball in their hands down the stretch like a superstar. And he delivered. Here Curry fights through the screen to keep Nembhard from going up for another 3, so he just casually heads downfield with Curry attached to his hip before draining a 10-footer.

Watch the Warriors double-team Nembhard in the midcourt, only for him to drive through, create a man advantage, recover, beat Jonathan Kuminga in the paint, draw the help and deliver the alley-oop assist.

Back threes, hard rushers in the paint, exploiting double teams – these are the things we’re used to seeing Curry do. But Monday was Nembhard’s night to show up and present himself as one of the best he’s ever done.